Japan Urges Not To Interfere With Gas Development In East China Sea, Beijing: Waters Under China's Jurisdiction

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Znuddel)

JAKARTA - China urged Japan not to interfere in Beijing's development of gas fields in the East China Sea on Tuesday, saying such a move was made within the country's jurisdiction.

On Monday, Japan's Foreign Ministry said China had set up a new drilling facility for a gas field in the contested sea area. Meanwhile, Tokyo has repeatedly called on Beijing to stop its unilateral resource development program there.

"China has been carrying out oil and gas development in uncontested waters under China's jurisdiction in the East China Sea", Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters, according to Kyodo News on June 21.

"Japan should not make irresponsible statements", he stressed.

The new drilling facility is located on the Chinese side of Tokyo's proposed median line, which separates the two countries' exclusive economic zones at sea, the Japanese ministry said.

Earlier in 2008, Beijing and Tokyo agreed to joint gas development in the area. However, negotiations were suspended in 2010 when bilateral tensions escalated, following the collision of a Chinese trawler with a Japanese Coast Guard vessel.